A Southwark Council tenant has been left without hot water and lighting in her Rotherhithe flat for a month, with a council officer telling her that the job was completed.
Jennifer O’Hara, who lives in John Brent House near Lower Road with her three daughters, first reported the leak from the flat above on April 29. The council sent a plumber and an electrician within a few days. But the leak into the bathroom has still not stopped, and the light in the bathroom has been off for weeks after the electrician turned off the electricity in the room. The light in the kitchen is not working for a separate reason, but has also not been fixed.
To make things worse, long-time council tenant Ms O’Hara has had to turn the combination boiler off because the water started dripping through the ceiling onto it too – leaving her and her children without hot water. Sadly, the water has dripped onto and damaged the photos of her children when they were young that she was keeping in the cupboard that also houses the boiler. There is also mould on the walls of the kitchen and bathroom.
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In desperation, Ms O’Hara, 46, asked the council’s repairs team for an update after the workmen first came round. A council officer told her in an email that the plumber reported that the work was completed.
Shaking, she said that she had doubled her dosage of anti-anxiety medication because of the stress of the leak.
“They shouldn’t expect me and my kids to live like this,” she said. “It’s despicable, they’re passing the buck.” She has contacted local MP Neil Coyle and Rotherhithe councillor Kath Whittam for help, but neither have been able to get the problem sorted out yet. “I don’t want any money, I just want them to fix it,” Ms O’Hara added.
Southwark Council did not respond to a request for comment. The flat above has been sold off and so is not the property of the council, despite being part of a council-owned block. That makes it harder for council workers to get into and fix any problems like leaks. The tenants living above told Ms O’Hara they had contacted their landlord.